In-line buckle



United States Patent 3,376,616 lN-LINE BUCKLE John Kaczorowski, 460 Main St., Sayreville, NJ. 08872 Filed June 6, 1966, Ser. No. 555,480 2 Claims. (Cl. 24-201) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An in-line belt buckle comprised of a pair of easily separable and easily connectable, substantially fiat elements in which the elements are non-magnetic and in which one element is provided with one pole of a permanent magnet and the other element is provided with the opposite pole of a permanent magnet positioned to align with each other when the buckle elements are positioned in a closed relationship.

This invention relates to separable fastening elements and more particularly to a pair of fastening elements which, when affixed in their fastened relationship, are in a flat in-line position.

In the past buckles have been provided using a central movable tongue or prong and buckles have been provided to overlap and interlock, however it is an object of this invention to provide a buckle in which the central tongue or prong is fixed and in which the end of the tongue or prong fits into an interlocking relationship with the opposite element of the buckle to lock both elements in an in-line relationship.

It is a further object of this invention to provide two flat mating elements for a buckle in which one is provided with a male tongue or prong while the oppositeelement is provided with a socket to permit an interlocking relationship and in which a north and south pole pair of permanent magnets are provided one within the socket and the other afiixed to the tongue or prong so that the two elements will be retained in their nested relation by the pair of permanent magnets.

Other objects of this invention may be apparent by reference to the accompanying detailed description and the drawings in which FIG. 1 is an exploded plan view of the buckle,

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view taken on line 22 of FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of the buckle in an in-line nested relation,

FIG. 4 is a further embodiment in a plan view,

FIG. 5 is a still further embodiment in a plan view,

FIG. 6 is an end view taken on line 6-6 of FIG. 5, and

FIG. 7 is a cross sectional view taken on line 7--7 of FIG. 5.

Referring to FIG. 1 there is illustrated a male element 11 and mating female element 12 to provide a combined buckle 10 that may be used with any strap, belt, rope, etc. Both elements 11 and 12 of the buckle 10 are of the same thickness as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 and when nested together as shown in FIG. 3 provide an in-line buckle. Element 11 is a one piece body with a solid base 14 and an extended tongue 15. The outer end of tongue 15 is expanded in a wedge shape 16. Tongue 15 is approximately one third the thickness of the body portion 14. Element 12 is essentially a solid body with a cutout portion 21 and wedge shaped socket 19. Portion 21 and socket 19 are of a configuration to match the configuration of tongue 15 and its expanded end 16. Body portion 20 is also provided with extended lips 22 of a thickness approximately half the thickness of body 20 so that when portion 20 and 1 4 are brought into an abutting 'ice relationship, tongue 15 will fit into the cutout portion 21. The elements 11 and 12 must be pressed together to seat tongue 15 in the cavity or socket or cutout portion 21. Body 14 is also provided with a pair of shelf-like areas 23 and 24 to receive the extended lips 22 thus holding the bodies 14 and 20 in a nested in-line relationship. To assure the two elements 11 and 12 remaining in the nested relationship as shown in FIG. 3, the tooling of the tongue 15 and the cutout portion 21 must be to provide a good tight fit. However to prevent the possibility of the tongue 15 releasing from the cutout portion 21, :a pair of permanent magnets, a north pole 25 may be inserted in the portion 16 of tongue 15 and a south pole 26 may be inserted in the cutout portion 21 in alignment with the north pole magnet 25 when the buckle is in a closed nested relationship. The permanent magnets will tend to retain the two elements in their nested position preventing any attempt to separate due to vibration or distorting of the buckle. A still further method of insuring the retention of tongue 15 in socket or cutout portion 21 is to provide an adhering surface to the wedge element 16 and to the wedge shaped cutout area 21 so that when there is pull on the buckle to separate elements 11 and 12, the tongue 15 will bind in the wedge shaped area 16 of the cutout portion 21 and will adhere along its surface to provide a tight binding securing means.

A still further improvement to the buckle is to provide the cutout portion 21 and specifically the wedge shaped area with an inwardly slanted edge while the tongue 15 and specifically the wedge shaped area 16 is shaped with an oppositely inclined wedge shape being somewhat wider on the bottom and narrower on the top so that the tongue 15 will wedge inward into a tight fitting relation that cannot release until the tongue 15 is forced inward to release the binding action of the end 16 within the cutout portion 21.

Referring to FIG. 4 there is illustrated a further embodiment of the buckle or separable fastening elements. In this embodiment the two elements 11A and 12A are elongated slightly to accommodate the changes over the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 1-3. Element 11A is similarly formed with a body portion 14 and an elongated tongue 15, however tongue 15 is of a length to permit adjustment in element 12A. Element 12 is formed similar to element 12 of FIGS. l-3, however, the cutout portion 21A is provided with a plurality of enlarged wedge shaped areas 19A in spaced relation. This permits setting tongue 15 in any of the adjusted positions, that is, the expanded end 16 of tongue 15 may be fitted into any of the areas or sockets 19A to shorten or lengthen the belt or strap as the case may be.

A still further embodiment of this invention is illustrated in FIGS. 5, 6 and 7 in which the body elements 11B and 12B are somewhat similar to elements 11 and 12 of FIGS. 1-3, that is, they are shaped similar and they are pressed into mating in-line relationship. In this embodiment the tongue 15B is provided with a central bore 18 and the expanded end 16B is split into two jaws 17A and B. The jaws have serrated or toothed faces to provide a gripping surface. In this embodiment the strap or belt is attached at one end to the buckle by a loop 30A on element 12B. However the other end of the strap or belt is attached to a separate block 11C of a configuration to match the cross sectional area of element 11B. Block 11C is provided with a loop 31A to permit attaching the belt or strap. Block 11C is also provided with a central bore 18A to match bore 18 of element 11B. A nylon cord or rope 35 is passed through bore 18A and bore 18, the cord or rope is provided with knots or buttons 36 and 37 at either end to insure the retention of the nylon in the elements 11B and 11C. In use the nylon rope 35 may be pulled to its maximum position as illustrated in FIG. 5, thus element 11C will abut with element 11B and the jaws 17A and 17B will grip the nylon rope 35 while the expanded split end 165 will be retained and wedged in socket 19B. In the event the belt or strap is to be adjusted to stretch or increase its length, the knot or button 37 is pulled to release element 11B from element 12B. The cord or rope 35 is then pulled by button 36 to provide the degree of stretch desired. The elements 11B and 12B are pressed together and the pull on tongue 153 provides a gripping of jaws 17A and B on the extended position of the nylon rope 35 and holds the strap or belt in the adjusted position. The rope 35 may be of any desired length and the belt or strap attachment by buckle C will be the same as in the previous embodiments.

The buckle may of course be made in metal, plastic, hard rubber or any hard finishable material according to the intended use and the buckle may be attached to a web or belt in any of the standard manners of attaching such as by providing a slot 30 in element 12 and a slot 31 in element 11 for passing the belt or webbing therethrough or sewing or afiixing the belt together as is common practice. It is to be noted in FIGS. 1 and 2 that when magnets 25 and 26 are to be utilized, the elements 11 and 12 cannot be of metal due to the magnetic effect of the magnets as the metal would cancel the intended purpose of the magnets. However the magnets will work with every known non-conductive material utilized for a buckle. In the event the buckle is made of plastic, a friction coating may be utilized in the cutout portion 21 and on the under side and edges of tongue 15 thus insuring a positive grip.

The buckle as described may be very small and light for use such as for attaching a watch band to a watch thus providing a quick attachment or quick release for removing the Watch or for repairing the watch. Likewise the buckle may be used for shoulder straps for ladies garments or the buckle may be slightly larger and be used with a strap for a safety belt or for embracing a small package or books for a child and the like or the buckle may be made in a highly decorative finish for belts for men or the buckle may be made quite heavy as a tow element for a tow rope, etc.

Although the buckle has been described with the general configuration illustrated, the tongue may be short or long as long as the matching cutout portions or sockets mate the configuration of the tongue. The mating elements of the buckle are designed to abut and be pressed into an in-line nested relationship. However the general configuration of the tongue and cutout portion may vary as long as the in-line relationship is maintained without departing from the spirit of this invention and this invention shall be lmited only by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An in-line buckle comprising a pair of relatively separable and connectible substantially fiat and equally proportioned non-magnetic first and second buckle body elements with a permanent magnet, each having means to attach the opposite ends of a belt, said first buckle body element having an elongated tongue on the side opposite to said belt attachment, said second buckle body element having an elongated cutout portion on the side opposite to said belt attachment, said cutout portion matching the configuration of said tongue, said tongue being less than the thickness of said first buckle body element, said cutout portion being the same thickness as,

said tongue, said tongue provided with one pole of a permanent magnet and said cutout portion of said second body element provided with an opposite pole of said permanent magnet and positioned to be in alignment with said pole of said permanent magnet in said tongue when said tongue is in matingrelationship with said cutout portion.

2. An in-line fastening buckle comprising a pair of relatively separable and connectible substantially fiat and equally proportional first and second buckle body elements, each having a narrow slot therethrough at one end, each slot having a flexible belt passed therethrough and forming a loop for attaching the end to said belt to provide a positive attachment of said belt at each end to said first and second buckle body elements, said first buckle body element having an elongated tongue on the side opposite to said belt attachment, said second buckle body element having an elongated cutout portion on the side opposite to said belt attachment, said cutout portion matching the configuration of said tongue, said tongue being approximately one half the thickness of said first buckle body element, said cutout portion being approximately one half the depth of the second buckle body element, said buckle body elements composed of a nonmagnetic material and in which said tongue of said first body element is provided with one pole of a permanent magnet and in which said cutout portion of said second body element is provided with an opposite pole of said permanent magnet and positioned to be in alignment with said permanent magnet in said tongue when said tongue is in mating relationship with said cutout portion.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,346,887 4/ 1944 Winkler. 2,833,015 5/1958 Kreisler. 3,027,617 4/1962 Gray. 3,080,635 3/1963 Gunther. 3,141,216 7/ 1964 Brett. 3,293,714 12/ 1966 Shafer.

BERNARD A. GELAK, Primary Examiner. 

